High Peak Liberal Democrats

London Liberal Democrat Mayoral candidate Brian Paddick has unveiled his policies to keep Londoners safe.

This is the first election where the Mayor also has the role of Police and Crime Commissioner and with 30 years' experience in the Metropolitan Police Brian Paddick is uniquely qualified for the job.

The policies, which form the bedrock of the full London Liberal Democrat manifesto to be launched next week, include:

• Local policing. We will get the police and people working together to stand up to criminals through local policing plans based on the priorities of the local community. We will carry out crime surveys and consult with local communities on their key priorities - listening to Londoners
• Increasing the number of police officers in the Met to 33,500
• Increasing the visibility of uniformed officers at busy travel interchanges and in town centres, especially late at night
• Better stop and search. We will stop police targeting innocent people and accurately target the power on criminals
• Tough payback sentences. Those convicted of criminal offences will be made to work in the community to repay their debt to society
• Paddick patrols. We will help Londoners who want to reclaim their streets by working with community groups such as residents and tenants associations patrolling in groups

Commenting, Brian Paddick said:

"Last summer we had the worst riots in our streets for a generation. Robbery and burglary are on the increase. Too many people feel unsafe and too many do not believe the police are on their side.

"We need a Mayor who knows how the police work and how to keep Londoners safe.

"As a former senior police officer, I know the best way to cut crime and restore trust in the police is to get people and officers working together. That's exactly what I will do as Mayor.

"We can't afford to make the same mistakes over and over again. As Mayor, above all else, I will keep Londoners safe."

As Mayor Brian Paddick will also take up the office of Police and Crime Commissioner for London, instead of delegating it to a deputy, and will personally lead a new era in tough and responsive policing in London.

The London Liberal Democrats' policing and crime policies are:

New York style crime reductions - for your neighbourhood

• More bobbies on the beat. We will guarantee 33,500 police in the Met by protecting local neighbourhood teams from the current Mayor's cuts and putting more police on the streets in communities most at risk from gun and knife crime
• Visible patrols. Increase the visibility of uniformed officers at busy travel interchanges and in town centres, especially late at night
• Safer travel. We will allow night buses to stop on request closer to passengers' final destinations, rather than at fixed bus stops
• Local policing. We will give each neighbourhood its own plan for policing and how officers are deployed, based on ward surveys and involving local people and local businesses in decisions over policing priorities in their areas
• Paddick patrols. We will help Londoners who want to reclaim their streets by working with community groups such as residents and tenants associations patrolling in groups to prevent crime and be the 'eyes and ears' of the police

Tough on criminals, support for victims

• Tough payback sentences. Those convicted of criminal offences will be made to work in the community to repay their debt to society while gaining new skills - reoffending can be halved through payback sentencing
• Survivors of rape to be better supported and taken seriously. Guaranteed funding for rape crisis centres and retraining of police to raise awareness - last year 3,312 rapes were recorded but London courts convicted just 219 people

High standards for police

• Better stop and search. We will stop police targeting innocent people and accurately target the power on criminals. Stopping people just because they are from minority ethnic communities destroys trust and wastes time that could be better spent targeting real criminals
• A new independent public commissioner for standards. A policing ombudsman for London to enforce tough and clear standards of conduct over behaviours that have brought the police into disrepute, such as abusing stop and search, racist attitudes and corrupt relations with the media